Shoe-horn.



I PATENTED MAY 19, 1903. A. D. WASHINGTON.

SHOE HORN.

APPLiOATION FILED AUG. 6. 1902.

no MODEL.

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TEE-l wuwwb: Q 7: Wash/2197 00 attowcxg UNITED STATES Patented May 19, 1903.

ANDREW D. \VASHING'ION, OF MERIDIAN, MISSISSIPPI.

SHOE-HORN,

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 728,788, dated May 19, 1903.

Application filed August 6, 1902. Serial No. 118,659 (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that 1, ANDREW D. WASHING- TON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Meridian, in the county of Lauderdale and State of Mississippi, have invented certain new and usefullmprovementsin Shoe-Horns; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The invention relates to shoe-horns.

The object of the invention is to provide a device of this character which shall be simple of construction, durable in use, comparatively inexpensive of production, which may be conveniently carried in the pocket, and which will enable the horn to be more expeditiously withdrawn from the shoe after it has been placed upon the foot than would a rigid or resilient horn.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a View of one form of the shoe-horn, and Fig. 2 is a View of another form.

The invention resides solely in making the shoe-horn flexible and non-resilientthat is to say, limp. Any suitable material may be employed for this purpose,preferabl y leather, which possesses these properties.

My improved limp shoe-horn by reason of its extreme flexibility and non resiliency adapts itself perfectly to the shape both of the shoe and of the foot, and these characteristics of my improved shoe-horn render the same exceedingly efiicient in facilitating the putting on of a shoe, and after the shoe is on the foot my shoe-horn by reason of its characteristics may be withdrawn without hurting the foot, which is not true of the inflexible and resilient shoe-horns heretofore constructed and used.

The shoe-horn may be provided with a handle, as shown in Fig. 2, or may be made without a handle. It can be used for any and all purposes for which the resilient or rigid form of shoe-horn has been heretofore employed, and is especially adapted to low-quarter shoes, which have a tendency to becoming turned down in the back when being put on. It can be folded or rolled into a coil and be conveniently carried about the person, and after it has been used for slipping on the shoe and the shoe is in place it may be more easily withdrawn from the shoe than a rigid or resilient horn.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the-accompanying drawings, the construction, operation, and advantages of my invention will be readily understood, it is thought,without requiring a more extended explanation.

Various changes in the form, proportion, and the minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the principle or sacrificing any of the advantages of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

As a new article of manufacture, a foldable, flexible shoe-horn adapted to be placed in and drawn from aheel of a shoe and adapted, when placed therein, to conform to the shape of the shoe and the foot, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ANDREW D. WASHINGTON.

Witnesses:

W. H. RO E, A. T. WASHINGTON, J r. 

